External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi at a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of Dushanbe SCO Foreign Ministers Meeting. (File Photo)
Highlights
- Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi arrived in New Delhi and is likely to meet EAM S Jaishankar.
- The visit comes after a row over Wang's comments on Kashmir at the OIC opening ceremony in Islamabad
- India, China have held series of military talks in last 1.5 years to resolve eastern Ladakh row.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi arrived in New Delhi on Thursday and is likely to meet his Indian counterpart S Jaishankar and National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval tomorrow. This is the first visit of a senior Chinese leader in two years since the border stand-off between the two countries since May 2020.
Row over Kashmir remark
The visit comes after a row between the two bordering nations over Wang's comments on Kashmir at the OIC opening ceremony in Islamabad on Tuesday. New Delhi strongly rejected the statements.
At the OIC meeting, Wang said: "On Kashmir, we have heard again today the calls of many of our Islamic friends. And China shares the same hope."
India retaliated, and said, “We reject the uncalled reference to India by the Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his speech at the Opening Ceremony." The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Wednesday that other countries, including China, have no locus standi to comment on India's internal matters and that they should note that India refrains from the public judgment of their internal issues.
India-China diplomatic talks
India and China have held a series of diplomatic and military talks in the last one-and-half years to resolve the eastern Ladakh row.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Wang held several rounds of talks in Moscow and Dushanbe to defuse tensions in eastern Ladakh during the period.
In September 2020, Jaishankar and Wang held extensive talks in Moscow on the sidelines of a conclave of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) during which they reached a five-point agreement to resolve the eastern Ladakh border row.
The pact included measures like quick disengagement of troops, avoiding action that could escalate tensions, adherence to all agreements and protocols on border management and steps to restore peace along the LAC.
The two foreign ministers had held a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of another SCO meeting in Tajik capital city Dushanbe in July last year with a focus on the border row. They again met in Dushanbe in September.
India has been consistently maintaining that peace and tranquillity along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) was key for the overall development of the bilateral ties.
Earlier this month, Wang said some forces have always sought to stoke tensions between China and India, in an apparent reference to the US.
On March 11, the 15th round of Corps Commander level talks were held between the two countries on the Indian side of the Chushul-Moldo border point in which both sides agreed to maintain the security and stability along the Line of Actual Control in the Western Sector.
The Eastern Ladakh standoff
The eastern Ladakh border standoff between the Indian and Chinese militaries erupted on May 5, 2020, following a violent clash in the Pangong lake areas.
Both sides gradually enhanced their deployment by rushing in tens of thousands of soldiers as well as heavy weaponry.
As a result of a series of military and diplomatic talks, the two sides completed the disengagement process last year in the north and south banks of the Pangong lake and in the Gogra area.
Each side currently has around 50,000 to 60,000 troops along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the sensitive sector.
After the Galwan Valley clash, both countries have held several rounds of border talks to resolve the standoff. India has called for complete disengagement in eastern Ladakh at all friction points.
